I had been looking for a dual-boiler machine for quite some time.I was interested in the Reneka, but they stopped making it. Then, while studying my post-graduate degree in Bologna, I became interested in the La Spaziale, but by the time I finished the degree and was packing our container back to Israel, I had no more budget!Finally, I read the pre-review on this site, a year ago, and knew that I had found my machine.The Israeli importer has no interest in bringing in the product, so I contacted Breville directly, in July 2011. A very nice customer service rep, named Tina Atkins, forwarded my inquiry to BRAD MAURER, head of international sales. I have never heard back from him, to this very day.In November 2011, not having received any kind of response from Breville, I wrote to Tina again, and again she forwarded to Mr. Maurer (I'd fire him if he were my employee). No response.In the last two weeks, I wrote once again, and finally received the following response from someone in Singapore named Karis Leung:

"Regarding to your request of Dual Boiler, this is correct that this model do not launch in Israel at the moment and we are still having discussion with distributor to decide if this model will be launch or not in the future. Sorry that we also cannot provide you a unit from here as we do basically let distributor to sell our products locally and hope you can choose other Breville products also with satisfaction." When I wrote back asking how I was supposed to get a machine if the dealer wasn't planning on importing it, I received a further, semi-literate response:

"We really appreciate to your support to Breville after compare with other products, however, we are not able to supply you a unit directly from here, all our distribution to the International markets are go through distributor locally and also, each of the product is specially made for that country in order to comply with local compliance requirement to ensure product safety. Really hope you can understand on this."

It took OVER A YEAR to get any kind of attention from them, despite repeated mails from me, and when I finally received a response, it was non-sensical: I'd have to buy from my dealer, because they could not bypass the dealer. At the same time, he/she told me the local dealer was not planning to import the machine in the near future, and wished me good luck. He/she also gave me some story that each Breville machine is built specifically for the requirements of the particular country. Actually, that's total crap - Breville knows full well that Israel adheres to the EU standard, and the only difference is the plug. They sell all their other products here.Conclusion? I won't be buying their dual-boiler espresso maker or any other Breville product. They aren't Kitchen Aid YET, and there are plenty of other espresso machines, juicers, blenders and mixers out there whose makers offer gold standard customer service.

I have been looking for a BDB in the UK without success. In the UK Breville trademark is managed by an independent company - not linked to Breville in Australia. But while browsing ebay, I saw some similarly designed machines. After some digging, I found that this machine is being sold in Germany via Gastroback - they are a distributor, not clear whether they are involved in design/manufacture. Also it found on the Amazon/German site for 999€.

I have owned this machine for nearly a year. I bought it to replace a worn out VBM that I had used for about five years. I initially was very impressed with its design, features and performance. It seemed to be one of the first Asian-made machines that could match the quality of Italian-made semi-automatics. After about 7 months, however, the machine failed. I spoke with Breville and they attributed the problem to a pressure relief valve. They said products shipped in the fist few months suffered from this defect, and they would replace the machine. I chose, instead, to exchange it at Wm-Sonoma, who also were very gracious. Now 3 months later the machine has been acting up. The pressure gauge makes wild gyrations when pulling a slow shot (35s). Apparently it's also related to the same valve. I called Breville and they were less helpful and said as long as the coffee is flowing (it was not the first time), it should not need replacing. After a few weeks of this problem continuing to occur, I returned it to Wm-Sonoma (they have a 90 day return policy).

Putting aside this problem, the one major limitation I found was the inability to backflush or clean the machine. Some of my shots seemed bitter, and I'm not sure it's related to that or not, but the quality has detiorated over time.

I have owned this machine for nearly a year. I bought it to replace a worn out VBM that I had used for about five years. I initially was very impressed with its design, features and performance. It seemed to be one of the first Asian-made machines that could match the quality of Italian-made semi-automatics. After about 7 months, however, the machine failed. I spoke with Breville and they attributed the problem to a pressure relief valve. They said products shipped in the fist few months suffered from this defect, and they would replace the machine. I chose, instead, to exchange it at Wm-Sonoma, who also were very gracious. Now 3 months later the machine has been acting up. The pressure gauge makes wild gyrations when pulling a slow shot (35s). Apparently it's also related to the same valve. I called Breville and they were less helpful and said as long as the coffee is flowing (it was not the first time), it should not need replacing. After a few weeks of this problem continuing to occur, I returned it to Wm-Sonoma (they have a 90 day return policy).

Putting aside this problem, the one major limitation I found was the inability to backflush or clean the machine. Some of my shots seemed bitter, and I'm not sure it's related to that or not, but the quality has detiorated over time.

I've had a BDB since February and it has worked flawlessly aside from the initial over-pressure valve (OPV) setup. The first production run had the OPV set too high, which was correctable by calling Breville customer service for a new machine or by opening the back and changing the setting yourself. I did the latter, which was ten minute exercise.

The machine can be back-flushed and cleaned, which is why it ships with a cleaning disk and three cleaning tablets. The recommended practice is to backflush with water once a day and to clean with a cleaning tablet monthly or so. The machine will remind you to clean it on a regular basis and has an automated cleaning cycle that makes cleaning dead simple. I fail to see how any BDB owner would not know this. Even if you didn't read the manual, the reminder to clean the machine doesn't go away until you execute the cleaning cycle.

Regarding fluctuations in pressure while pulling shots, that's obviously a matter of grind, dose, and tamp. This is also explained in the manual.

Hello Mark,I have read your very detailed 'first look' at the Breville DB Espresso Machine and I'm curious if you have had the chance to post an actual REVIEW of this product. I am considering my first MAJOR purchase of a QUALITY espresso machine and I really like what I see in the BDB. I have searched around and I can't seem to find your review on it. Thanks for your time.Raylee

Hello Mark,I have read your very detailed 'first look' at the Breville DB Espresso Machine and I'm curious if you have had the chance to post an actual REVIEW of this product. I am considering my first MAJOR purchase of a QUALITY espresso machine and I really like what I see in the BDB. I have searched around and I can't seem to find your review on it. Thanks for your time.Raylee

I'm considering the Breville or the Vivaldi Dream. One of my hesitations on the Breville is steam pressure. I'm wondering what those of you who own this machine think of its pressure. Is it adequate. I currently have an Expobar Officew Control and the pressure is OK, but not great. I wouldn't want to buy a new machine with any less pressure.

I'm considering the Breville or the Vivaldi Dream. One of my hesitations on the Breville is steam pressure. I'm wondering what those of you who own this machine think of its pressure. Is it adequate. I currently have an Expobar Officew Control and the pressure is OK, but not great. I wouldn't want to buy a new machine with any less pressure.

I've owned the BDB and a Mini Vivaldi (for steam it is the same as the dream T I believe). What Breville has done is that they have configured their steam system to be able to produce excellent microfoam. What I mean by that is that although it is not powerful, it IS effective and easy to learn.

The Mini Vivaldi on the other hand has very strong steam and IMHO there is a learning curve to managing it to get excellent microfoam especially if you are steaming 5 ounces and less. But once you have learned you can then produce excellent microfoam.

I've used both and have been able to produce quality microfoam on both, but they do feel different in use.

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